Cause and Investigation
The Ontario Fire Marshal's Office handled the investigation of the explosions. While the cause of the explosions has not yet been determined, on August 21, 2008, Ontario's independent safety regulator for fuels, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority, released a statement saying that just before the explosion, a truck driver was illegally transferring propane from one truck to another. The agency also reported that in November 2006, Sunrise Propane was warned about its lack of safety by not stopping the truck-to-truck transfers at the company's facilities, and that truck-to-truck transfers were a frequent and routine operating practice at the facility.
An investigator with the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office stated that it could take months before the cause of the explosions can be determined. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty also said that the province is willing to provide financial aid to residents whose homes were damaged by the explosions.
As of October 2009, the cause has not yet been determined. The Ontario Fire Marshal's office is still investigating the explosions and has yet to issue a report.
On August 4, 2010, The Toronto Star reported that the massive Sunrise propane explosion in 2008 was caused by an illegal "tank-to-tank transfer" along with a gas hose leak. The report said that liquid propane was released from a hose after a "tank-to-tank transfer" was completed. The Star reports that Sunrise didn't have the right licence to perform those types of transfers, and it was previously barred from doing so by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority in November 2006.
The Environment Ministry has argued that Sunrise failed "to show that there was a proper preventative maintenance system in place." While Leo Adler, Sunrise's lawyer, argued that the event was an unforeseeable accident because Sunrise kept their equipment in good order and cannot be held responsible for a hose failure.
Read more about this topic: Toronto Propane Explosion